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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday... A Little Late

1. It takes Too. Much. Time. Three whole entire days were swallowed up by our searching. Today I am scrambling to get stuff done and feeling very behind the eight ball.

2. It costs Too. Much. Money. There is no "inexpensive way" to replace a vehicle. My van died of old age quietly in the driveway after nearly dying on the side of the road and scaring my children and me. We managed to get home as she valiantly got us one last time where we were going. But attempting to get her out on the road one more time was just too risky after that. She just can't be trusted anymore. The old girl had 200K miles on her. It was time to let her go. And yet, I wasn't ready to replace her. Are we ever truly ready?

3. There are a lot of people who do not take care of their cars. Curt is very picky about what car he gets-- it needs to be clean. Really clean. That crossed a LOT of cars off our list.

4. There are a lot of people selling used cars who are shifty. We met a few along the way. We did not buy their cars.

5. It feels more urgent when you're buying a car under the gun as we were. We need two vehicles for our 8 member family. My son has a car but it's for his use for school and work and social. He helped us out some but he's gone in his car a lot. So that left Curt's car functioning as transportation for 7 people. When they were going in two different directions at the same time, it got dicey. Plus his car doesn't fit us all. We couldn't all go to church on Sunday. We need two cars and we need at least one of those cars to fit us all. That would be mine.

6. SUV's are big. And they guzzle gas. And I drove a Suburban for years before I got my van. I didn't want another SUV. Yet they are one of the obvious options for transporting as many people as we have. But I wasn't feeling an SUV this time. Can't explain why except it just wasn't "me."

7. Vans are great. They hold a lot of people and they aren't bad on gas. Plus they aren't expensive in the grander scheme of things. But I've driven a van for a great many years. And I knew that whatever vehicle I am getting I will also drive til it dies of old age. I didn't want to be in a van for the next ten years as my kids are getting driving licenses and I am no longer a minivan mom but transitioning out of that phase of my life. Wanted to think beyond that.

8. Which led us to crossovers. They are pretty cool, not bad on gas, and fit us all. They are also pretty expensive-- and yet, I kept coming back to them. Curt just shook his head and said "It's your car. You need to be happy in it because you're going to drive it for a long, long time. Choose wisely." I kept saying, "I just wish the van hadn't died." And he kept saying, "Well it did, so pick something already!"

9. People that work in car dealerships are pretty nice. Especially the guy who sold us our vehicle last night as we slumped into chairs at his desk, looking relieved to have found "the one" we'd been searching for high and low. He told us about his new baby who is 8 weeks old. And about his 23 year old. We laughed about the dichotomy of raising young adults and little ones all at the same time. He's nearly 50 and his wife is 43. My hat's off to him and we were even happier to give him the commission off our sale. We knew how much he needed it.

10. What kind of car did we get? A 2007 GMC Acadia. It's "cool" according to my kids. We're happy. Mostly I am just happy that it's done. Lord willing, I don't intend to go through that for another ten years. Phew!

6 comments:

My family and I just recently purchased a new vehicle so I completely agree with your Top Ten. My mini-van was on the "outs" because it had a mind of it's own and didn't always want to start...left me and my children stranded more than once!! Intially after much searching and even more prayers, God blessed us with a vehicle at a small dealership that we just happened upon when were on a family vacation. He definetly works in mysterious ways!!Blessing, and enjoy your new wheels!

we are car shopping right now. our 2nd vehicle is 10 years old and has over 150,000. it has not died. yet. but we are feeling slightly proactive, especially since 10 years is a fair amount of time to own a car.they are just plain ol' expensive.

My parents just purchased a GMC Acadia and love it. I love it too. My kids think it's so cool and don't understand why I won't just go out and trade our van in for one. Like you said....expensive. My van hopefully has a few good years left. It's 7 years old with 150k. There's a mechanic in the family so he keeps it well tuned for us to continue on. Have fun and enjoy.

What a nice car!! I always let my dad help us get cars, because he loves to bargain and dicker, and I can't be bothered with all that. He has found us two really great vehicles, and one of them we just got over the Thanksgiving weekend. It's great to have someone help us with this, as it's not a strong suit for my husband or myself. Congratulations on the new car! I hope you really enjoy it!

Ahhh - that's my car!! I want/need to move to a bigger car, and we've been saving up. We spent a full day car shopping when I was pregnant last year (and my mom watched the toddler). I had a huge spreadsheet of crossovers comparing all their specs. I loved the Acadia by far! I thought we've have it by now, but had some unexpected things come up that ate up my car money. So... still waiting. But, I can't wait! It's funny though... I keep finding people who are buying "my" car in the meantime. I hope you enjoy it!